Vaibhav Sooryavanshi created history by becoming the youngest Indian to make his international debut. However, on the back of Jacob Bethell’s unbeaten 46-ball 76, England took a 1-0 lead in the five-match T20I series against India. The home side chased down the target of 191 in the penultimate over. It was India’s third successive defeat in the format.
The wonderkid’s epoch-making moment
Even an hour before the second T20I between India and England at Old Trafford, there was a sense of anticipation surrounding Sooryavanshi’s much-awaited international debut. Eventually, the cap was handed to him by Tilak Varma.
So, how did he go about tackling the England bowlers? As expected, he announced himself in international cricket with a six off his Rajasthan Royals team-mate Jofra Archer. He followed that with another six off Josh Tongue, who too was making his T20I debut. However, his innings did not last much longer as he was stumped by Jos Buttler off Will Jacks for 14.
Bethell does it for England
In his short career so far, Bethell has showcased composure under pressure. In the Manchester T20I, he compiled a game-breaking innings to steer England home. For large parts of his innings, Bethell struggled to find his timing and scored at around a run a ball. The turning point came in the 17th over, bowled by Ravi Bishnoi, who conceded three sixes and a boundary to Bethell.
The hallmark of Bethell’s innings was that he never gave up, even when he could not find the boundary regularly.
The Abhishek Sharma pyrotechnics
The left-hand batter continued his good form during the ongoing tour of the United Kingdom with a brisk 24-ball 43. Initially, he was troubled by the pace and bounce extracted by Archer and Tongue. Soon, he took advantage of Tongue overpitching by cracking a boundary and a six. He then proceeded to smack Jacks for a couple of boundaries before falling to Sam Curran.
Sam Curran stars for England
The left-arm seamer has shown on enough occasions that he can make an impact in the shortest format of the game. In the Manchester T20I, he mixed up his pace very well and watched the batter’s feet like a hawk to finish with figures of 3 for 33. Abhishek, Ishan Kishan and Shivam Dube were his three victims.
Tilak Varma v Jofra Archer
This battle between the left-hand batter and Archer always seems to go in Tilak’s favour. Be it in the T20I series in India last year, the T20 World Cup semi-final or the Manchester T20I, there has only been one winner, and that has been Tilak. In the last over of India’s innings, he thwacked Archer for two sixes and a boundary. Somehow, it felt as though he was reading the bowler’s mind.
The Axar-Arshdeep duo almost win it for India
Arshdeep Singh picked up two wickets in the opening over, dismissing Phil Salt and Jos Buttler. He then returned to break a crucial partnership by removing Tom Banton. He also showed the required temperament to bounce back after being taken apart by Harry Brook in his second over.
Meanwhile, Axar Patel’s four overs cost just 20 runs, and he also claimed the prized scalp of Brook. His batting form remains a concern, but there is no doubt that he is a valuable member of the bowling attack. Unfortunately for India, Bishnoi’s figures of 4-0-60-0 proved costly.
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